Currently, 1 to 2 children per 1000 are born with a permanent, significant degree of congenital deafness. This guidance considers the implications of very early identification of deafness on the existing service delivery to the families of pre-school-age deaf children.

This publication is for local authorities (LAs) and teachers of the deaf and other professionals working with very young deaf children and their families after deafness has been diagnosed and hearing aids have been fitted. It builds on existing good practice by LEAs in this area and promotes the development of professional practice in response to earlier diagnosis.

This guidance is issued in the context of the implementation of newborn hearing screening, previously known as Universal Neonatal Hearing Screening (UNHS), through a Department of Health pilot.

Advice is offered in topics such as: aims for education service provision; partnership with parents; multi-agency working; and evaluating service delivery.

This document was issued with a related piece of guidance: Together From The Start – Practical guidance for professionals working with disabled children (ref: LEA/0067/2003). Please note, this item is only available to download.